For decades, every Olympic and Paralympic Games has been represented by some kind of mascot, with varied public receptions—from the much-criticized “Izzy” from Atlanta in 1996 to the beloved panda from Beijing 2022 and the big-eyed, divisive hats from Paris 2024.
Taking over the post for 2026 are Milo and Tina, a pair of sibling stoats wearing scarves—or, as they are called in the US, short-tailed weasels.
The two are named in homage to the two host cities of the Winter Games, Milan (Milano) and Cortina d’Ampezzo, and are described by the organizers as the “first openly Gen Z mascots”.
“Our stoats are two cheerful and laid-back teenagers, energetic, determined, and strong-willed, sometimes charmingly irreverent with adults and eager to assert their role as protagonists in the world to come,” wrote the Milano Cortina organizing committee.
You can differentiate them by their coats and stories.
Meet Tina and Milo
Tina, the Olympic mascot, is cream-colored with a brown tail tip. She is described as a “creative and down-to-earth type who lives in the city and loves hanging out at shows and concerts” and is “in ecstasy over the power of beauty and its ability to transform”.
“I like to explore, try new things, change,” she says in her biography. “Every winter, however, nothing stops me from returning to my beloved mountains to have fun with my brother and friends.”
Milo, the Paralympic mascot, is brown with a white belly. He lives in the mountains and loves playing pranks, frolicking in the snow, and inventing musical instruments in his free time, say the organizers. He was born without a paw but learned to walk using his tail.
“It was never a big problem for me, maybe because I was always taught that obstacles, if you look at them closely and understand how to approach them, become super trampolines!” says his biography.
How They Were Chosen
Mascots are the ambassadors of the Games, welcoming athletes and spectators to the host country while promoting their identity and values online and abroad. It’s a big decision. And for these Games, it all started with Italian students.
As part of the creation process, Italy’s Ministry of Education invited elementary and secondary school students to submit ideas for the mascots—and received more than 1,600 entries.
They consulted the public on their two finalist ideas: a pair of flowers (an edelweiss and a snowdrop) on a journey from the mountain to the city, created by students from Lombardy, and the athletic stoats with Olympic dreams, courtesy of students from the Calabria region.
Milo and Tina were officially presented to the public in February 2024, almost exactly two years before the Olympic opening ceremony in Milan. And they weren’t alone: the organizers decided they would be accompanied by six small snowdrop helpers known as The Flo, flowers that symbolize rebirth and inspired by the contest runner-up.
Stoats 101
The organizers say that stoats are the “ideal animals to embody the contemporary Italian spirit” that will guide the Games, citing their liveliness, agility, and speed.
“They are curious by nature, have the surprising ability to change the color of their fur according to the seasons, and the resilience necessary to adapt to a challenging habitat like the mountains,” they wrote. “They will guide us to a future respectful of the environment and differences, increasingly sustainable and bright.”
They belong to the mustelid family, which includes weasels, otters, ferrets, badgers, and wolverines (but no longer skunks, which were reclassified based on emerging genetic evidence in the 1990s).
Stoats are native to Eurasia and North America and can be found in the Italian Alps, usually by the name ermine, which refers to their white winter coats. In the warmer months, they have light brown fur with white belly, neck, paws, and chin.
The black tips of their tails year-round have been used to decorate rugs and royal garments for centuries. The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) says that weasels were considered a “symbol of unshakeable purity” in Europe for generations before the word gained its “undeserved dual reputation”.
“I doubt anyone has ever thanked for hurling the epithet ‘weasel’ at someone. But maybe they should,” it continues. “The weasel family is highly resourceful, ambitious, brave, agile, energetic, and simply adorable in many cases.”
Stoats may be known for their long-necked, small, and slender bodies, but they can take on prey more than five times their size. They eat almost everything: rodents, birds, rats, shrews, eggs, small snakes, insects, and more. But stoats’ favorite prey are rabbits, and they have a unique way of catching them: the power of dance.
“It is believed that the exaggerated twists, jumps, and lunges disorient and perhaps even hypnotize some species of prey,” says the NPS. “The weasel gets closer and closer until it’s too late for the prey to escape, with the final leap landing on the animal quickly followed by the fatal bite.”
Source: npr.org by Rachel Treisman